Improvement in steering apparatus



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P. B. VOURHEES.. Steering-Apparatus. m 910,162,720, Fay? PatentedApri|27,1875.

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Patented April 27, 1875.

P. R. VDURHEES.

Steering-Apparatus. N gl 2 7 2 0 Wdh/ess es PHILIP R. VOORHEES, OFIVASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF CQLUMBIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN STEERING APPARATUS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 162,720, datedApril 27,1875; application tiled January 21,1875. I

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that 1PH1LIP R. VooRHEEs, of Washington, in the District ofColumbia, have invented a Steering Apparatus for Ships and othernavigable vessels, of which the following is a specification:

The object of this invention is to move a ships rudder easily andquickly, and to have it under as complete control as volition itself. Inorder to accomplish this object, this invention utilizes both hand andhydraulic or pneumatic power, and also that of steam.

The said invention consists of a winding mechanism and a hydraulic orpneumatic engine operated by said mechanism, or by an ordinary handsteering-wheel and ropes, or by both. The winding mechanism itself' isoperated by power transmitted from a revolving shaft by means of belts,or by the frictional contact of a pinion on said shaft with the pulleysor gear-Wheels, which form part of said mechanism.

The operation of this winding mechanism is directly controlled by anauxiliary hand steering-wheel, and also by the main steering- Wheel,through the intervention of the hydraulic engine.

The main steering-Wheel may be used alone to actuate the rudder, as wellwhen connected either to the winding mechanism or to the hydraulicengine, or to both of them, as when disconnected therefrom, and theauxiliary steering-wheel may be used in conjunction with either the mainWheel, the Winding mechanism, the hydraulic engine, or all of them, asis hereinafter fully described.

Beyond providing' for the prevention of shocks to the mechanism andhelmsman from the violent action of heavy seas upon the rudder by theuse of the hydraulic engine above mentioned, the connections of theseveral moving parts of this machine consist only of ordinary eXiblehide or other rope, and chains and rods where desired, so that, whatevershocks may occur, there can be no rigid connections to be broken,jammed, or worn, such as are usually found in steam and othertooth-geared steering mechanisms.

In the drawing forming partv of this specification, Figure lis a generalplan of the Whole mechanism. Fig. 2 is an elevation looking aft,omitting the main and auxiliary hand steering-Wheels. Fig. 3 is anelevation, looking forward, of the hand steering-wheel and its auxiliaryWheel or sector. Fig. 4 is a longitudinal vertical section through thesteeringengine, omitting the main and auxiliary hand steering-wheels.

The remaining figures illustrate details, to be hereinafter described.

The principal working parts of this apparatus will now be described, inorder that ther principles governing its construction and operation maybe clearly understood; it will.

afterward be described more in detail.

To the stock of the rudder may be att-ached drums, yokes, or tillers,all of these devices being common attachments for obtaining leverage formoving the rudder.

In the drawing, A is a yoke or two-ended lever, mounted iii-suitablebearings on a vertical shaft, A2, and moving in a horizontal planethrough part of a circle. This yoke may be placed in any convenient partof the ship, but, if in a steamer, preferably in the shaft passage oralley, or in some part of the ship easily accessible from theengine-room and close upon the keelson. B is an arm of yoke A, connectedto the piston-rod U by a pin, d, which passes through the end of the armB, held between the jaws ofthe socket l) on the end of the piston-rod(l. lThis pistonrod, with its piston E, reciprocates in cylinder F,oscillating in a horizontal plane upon vertical trunnions. f

` If preferred, the oscillating cylinder may be connected by itspiston-rod directly to a tiller attached to the rudder, instead of tothe intermediate yoke A; but such a plan is not thought advisable. Theupper trunnion of cylinder F is bored out; in it is placed and from itrises a stand-pipe, G, divided longitudinally by a partition into twocompartments or pipes. Near the base of the standpipe are two ports, ce-one in each division of it. These ports are kept in communicationalternately with each end of the cylinder as it oscillates by means ofthe vpacked plates or valves j' f. At the top of the stand-pipe G twopipes, H H, branch olf-one to starboard and the other to port; and eachpipe connects with one of the hydraulic elevators or pumps P P. Twoother pipes, K K, provided with check-valves k k, form anotherconnection between the pipes H H and the pumps P P. From these pumpsalso two pipes, L L, lead overboard. The sea-water ooding the upperchambers c c of the pumps through the pipes L L passes on into pipes KK, thence through the check-valves 7c 7c into pipes H H, and throughthem into each division of the standpipe G, and thence into each end ofthe cylinder F, which is thus always kept flooded. This being the case,it can readily be seen that the traverse of the piston E will expel thewater alternately from each end of the cylinder through one or other` ofthe pipes H H, into one or other of the elevating-pumps P P, when itwill raise one or other of their pistons b b-each check-valve closing asthe piston E- approaches it. The pistons b b, being connected by theirrods r r and links to the vibrating pulley-frame M, will elevate one ofits ends and depress the other. These checkvalves mightpossibly bedispensed with, for the water always oodin g the pump-chambers can enterthe cylinder through the pipes H H when the frame M is in mid-position,or when either ofthe pistons b b is raised above its mid-position; butwhen moving the rudder rapidly, the water might not lill the oscillatingcylinder, through the various ports and passages, fast enough from thissource; hence, as a matter of precaution, the check-valves 7c 7c havebeen provided. S is a revolving shaft; in the drawing it represents thepropeller-shaftofa Steamship; but a shaft driven by a separate andsmaller engine than the main engine or engines may be used if desired.0n this shaft are either forged or keyed pulleys a c; or the shaft alonemay be used instead of thepulleys, if it have sufticientdiameter. Forthis reason but one of these pulleys is shown in the drawing. Below theshaft S, provided with bosses and end journals N, mounted in bearings ontop of the two pillow-blocks B2 B2, is the vibrating frame M abovementioned, in which frame arejournaled, in suitable bearings, thewinding-pulleys t2 a2. Upon any deck of a vessel, in any convenientposition, either forward or aft, is placed an ordinary handsteering-wheel, W, having its axis or drum mounted in suitable bearings.0n its axis is fitted an additional or auxiliary smaller wheel orsector, V, the hub of which lits loosely upon the axis of the wheel W,so that the latter can freely revolve within it. Ordinary rawhide orother wheel-ropes D2 D2 connect the hand-wheel VV with the arms of theyoke A, and suitable tiller-ropes D3 D3 connect said yoke with therudder. All of these ropes are passed through necessary fairleaders.

ltawhide or other suitable ropes E2 E2 also connect the arms of the yokeA with the winding-shafts s s, to which one end of each rope is secured.The other ends of these ropes, attached to the arms of yoke A, may,instead of being rigidly secured thereto, be

passed through double-sheave leading-blocks b2, attached to the arms ofthe yoke. The ropes in such case will be provided with stops or togglesT T and weights a u, so that, when unwinding from one of the shafts s s,the ropes cannot foul or kink, but will overhaul through the sheaves inthe arms of the yoke, and pass over fair-leaders into any case or tubesthat may be provided for them. Thus all slack rope dueto its stretching,or to nonuse of the winding-shafts s s, will be taken up. The drawingshows such weights suspended in a divided tube affixed to theyoke-center or vertical shaft A2, upon which the yoke turns; but thesetubes may be attached, if desired, to any suitable part of the ship, andwill then act just as efficiently as when arranged as shown in thedrawing. Belts 0 O, of any suitable material, or, instead of belts,rawhide or other ropes 0 0, running in grooves g g, connect the pulleysa2 a2 on winding-shafts s s with the driving-pulleys a aon the mainshaft S. Two other ropes, R R, of wire or other suitable material ofsmall cross-section, now connect the ends of the vibrating frame M withthe smaller wheel or sector V, and the apparatus is complete.

lts mode of operation and the method of controlling its operation are asfollows: When the sector V stands vertically, it is in the center of itsextreme movement on the axis of wheel W, and both the pulleys a2 a3 arein their mid-position also, and so remain until either one is thrown ingear, in the manner now to be described. It will be here observed that,the chambers c c of the elevating-pumps P P being always Hooded by thesea, the pressure of the sca upon the diaphragms c2 c2 in said chambersalways keeps the vibrating frameA M and sector V in mid-throw, wheneverthe frame M is not forcibly depressed upon one side or the other. Theframe M, being thus held in equilibrio, requires very little` power tomove it, for, when depressed on one side, the upward pressure of the seaon the other compensates for most of the power which would otherwise berequired to depress it. By a very slight expenditure of handpower,therefore, through a very small arc of a circle upon the axis of wheelVV, the sector V will be depressed, either to starboard or to port, andraise or depress correspondingly one end of frame M, so that the pulleysa2 a2 will be thrown, the one toward shaft S, the other away from it,the latter motion tightening one of the belts O O. Now, either beltbeing thus tightened will, bythe revolution of shaft S, communicate itsmotion toits own pulley, which, in turn, will wind up its rope E2, andunwind its opposite fellow rope E2 from the other winding-shaft s,through the intervention of the yoke A. This movement of vthe yoke will,through the connection of the tiller-ropes D3 D, move the rudder eitherto starboard or to port, as may be desired.

The yoke A, being also connected to the Wheel W on deck by the ropes D2D2, will cause it at the same time to revolve without any manual laborWhatever. This hand-wheel W, by thus revolving, will act as a tell-taleof the speed of movement of the rudder, as well as of its angle. Butjust as the rudder comes hard over to either side, the helmsman willfeel the full winding force of the engine, (the rudder having ceased tomove,) drawing the frame M up, and slacking vthe belt, and thuscompelling him to yield his pressure upon sector V until one of thebelts O O becomes slack. The winding-ropes E2 E2 should lead each fromits winding-shaft at an angle between twenty-two and a half andforty-five degrees from the horizontal, when the ship is on an evenkeel. If leading horizontally, there would be but little or no strainupon the helmsman due to the winding of the rudder; if vertically, thewhole strain of the rudders resistance would be upon the helmsman. Thebest angle would, therefore, be that so far removed from the horizontalas to bring a heavy strain when the rudderv comes hard over to eitherside, suflcient to remind the helmsman of the fact. The helmsman willthus be prevented, both by sight and feeling, from breaking thewinding-ropes by continuing the winding action-indeed, if he be able todo so after the rudder has come hard over.

It will be observed that when the rudder is hard over to either side thepiston E is at the end of its stroke, and that, therefore, the auxiliarylifting action of the pumps P P upon the vibrating frame M ceases. 1twill thus be seen that either the wheel XV or the sector V lnay be usedin steering, or both, as may be preferred. They reciprocally interact,for motion in the sector moves the wheel through the intervention of thewinding mechanism, which moves yoke A, to which the Wheel is attached,and the wheel W moves the sector, through the intervention of the yoke Aand the hydraulic engine, which together move the frame M, to which thesector is attached.

By lashing the sector and wheel together,

when the ship comes to anchor, very little motion could take place inthe rudder from the force of the sea, but it would be more prudent tolash the wheel to some fixed support. The sector V may be placed eitherforward of or abaft the wheel W, on its axis 5 and, in addition to orinstead of-its spokes, rods may depend from the hub to the deck, which,passing through suitable guides, should be provided with pedals beneaththe large wheel W, and near the deck, so that the helmsman canconveniently, even in .heavy weather, brace himself, and still bear uponthe pedals with his foot, while tending with his hands the wheel W. 1fpreferred, however, rods or lines may be led from the vibrating frame Mto the deck, and there be connected to any hand or foot gear convenientto the helmsman, and not connected to the axis of wheel W.

, Similar lines, wires, or rods may also lead the ship, such as to thebridge or to horseblocks, for the use of the officer of the deck,independently of the, hehnsman.

It is believed that, with a little practice, great dexterity in managingthis steering mechanism can be acquired, for should the piston E beforced into too rapid motion by the violent action of the rudder in aheavy sea, it can be instantly checked in its movement by a slightdepression of the sector V, or one end of fralne M itself, which, bydepressing one end of frame M, causes one of the pistons b b to lap theports c3 c3 and c4 o4 in one elevating-pump, permitting of the escape ofno more water therefrom, and thus effectually stopping, or, if desired,only retarding, the action of the rudder.

Thus it will be seen that the helmsman need have no charge of thissteering mechanism, other than to turn the sector V a part of arevolution, or the large wheel itself a certain number of revolutions,either to starboard or to port, just as has been the custom among seamensince the wheel and axle were rst applied to actuate the rudder. Shouldthe wheel W not instantly respond to the movement of the sector V, itcan be immediately moved by hand the required number of spokes, thoughof course this will require a greater manual eiort, without any regardto the sector, which may be abandoned at any moment by entirely ignoringit. The helmsman has no concern to whether the shaftS be backing orrevolving ahead, for the pulleys work in perfect harmony, whether theshaft revolve to the right or to the left, so that he can port orstarboard the helm to move the ships head without regard to the forwardor backward motion of the screw-propeller or its shaft, though, ofcourse, not Without regard to the fact of the ships having eitherheadway or sternboard. His movements in these cases are precisely thesame as with the ordinary hand steeringgear. For those steamships attimes under sail alone, and which then drag their screws revolving, thisapparatus is quite as efficient as if they were steaming; for a very fewrevolutions of the screw per minute would furnish ample power to turnthe pulleys with sufficient speed to move the rudder fast enough for theheadway of the ship. If desired, a smaller screw-propeller and shaft maybe especially provided for this purpose. By this means, whenever theship had sufficient headway, ample power would be furnished by thisdragging screw-propeller and its revolving shaft to actuate the pulleys,no

matter how that headway was obtained, whether by the use of sails orsteam. While this whole steering mechanism should be under the charge ofthe engineer department of the ship, (if a steamer,) and under theconstant inspection of the engineer oflcer of the watch, it can bemanaged by any man of ordinary intelligence; and should it be necessary,for any reason, to dispense with its use, it can instantly bedisconnected, leaving the hand steering-gear intact, by simplywithdrawing the pin dfrom its socket D. When once properly erected, thedurability of this steering mechanism would be very great, and itsadjustments few and very simple, and but seldom would either berequired. If a separate steam-engine be used for actuating the Winding-pulleys a2 a2, its shaft need, of course, revolvel in but onedirection, and a belt may be led from its shaft to a counter-shaftplaced above the propeller-shaft, from which countershaft belts may leadto the winding-pulleys and to the propeller-shaft, by which commonmethod of arranging pulley-shafts either the propeller-shaft or theshaft of the special engine may be used, as desired, for actuating thewinding mechanism. In this case a rod or line should connect the frame Mor sector V with a common throttle-valve in the steampipe ot suchengine. This throttle -valve should have no seat, but, like an ordinarydamper, should revolve in either direction. NVhen ath wart the pipe, itshould leak enough to keep the engine moving slowly, and when either armof the throttle were pulled by either end of frame M, it would theninstantly open full wide, giving steam enough to drive the pulleys whileone belt remained tight; and when the belt was sla-cked up, the throttlewould be brought again athwart the steampipe, and the engine be slowed`to the ordinary consumption of steam for pumping or other purposes.

By keeping this engine always turning its centers slowly when notdriving the pulleys, all danger of condensation of steam in its cylinderand pipes will be avoided.

In adapting this winding mechanism to shafts of high velocities, caremust be taken to so proportion the diameters of the pulleys andwinding-shafts as not to force the rudder too suddenly into motion froma state of rest, or too quickly over from one side to the other.

It is evident that steam or water from the bottom of a boiler havingsufficient steampressure within it might be introduced through suitablevalves in the stand-pipe G of the oscillatingcylinder, and the ruddercould thereby be actuated, thus dispensing entirely with the windingmechanism andthe elevating-pumps but the size ot the oscillatingcylinder would thereby be necessarily increased, involving a loss ot'economy in consumption of steam. Provision would also be required to belnade for starting the rudder by hand when amidships, t'or then, thepiston being on its center, it could not be moved by any force Withinthe cylinder until thrown olil its center by moving the cylinder, bysome force external to it, to either one side or the other.

The following is a description of a special adaptation of the hydraulicengine forming a part of this invention: It has already been observedthat said engine can be used independently of the winding mechanism bymoving the rudder by hand alone. It then acts as a most efficientrelieving-tackle,77 or, rather, as an automatic substitute therefor.Ropes can be passed from either a hand-tiller directly attached to arudder, or from a Wheel, to a yoke similar to A, of any size suitablefor a large yacht or coaster, as well as for a steamer or sailing-ship.Now, by moving this hand tiller or wheel, the yoke would move, and inmoving would move the piston in the oscillating cylinder, which actionwould elevate one end of a simple beam connecting the piston-rods of theelevating-pumps and depress the other, thereby depressing one of saidpistons, and causing it to lap the ports in one of the elevatingpumps. Aperfectly automatic substitute for either hand-tiller ropes orrelieving-tackles is thus constituted,which could be placed below in thehold ofthe vessel, in any convenient position, ready to be hooked on bythe ropes passing through the deck upon the approach of bad weather.rIhus ayacht could conveniently carry a hand-tiller instead of a wheel,quick handling being very desirous for such vessels.

It is obvious that it a small wheel or reel be attached to the end ofthe tiller grasped by the helmsman, and a simple band or hub similar tothat of sector V be placed upon the rudder-head, and ropes from it beled to the reel, and to the beam connecting the elevating-pumps P l?,the beam can be operated independently of the tiller, for, in afollowing sea, it might be important to meet the helm; and by operatingthe beam independently ot' the tiller the advance of the rudder fromamidships. can be checked as readily as its retreat toward amidsliips ischecked by operating the tiller itself. But this hydraulic engine neednot necessarily be hydraulic. By simply letting the pipes L L open intothe atmosphere instead of into the sea, a perfectly automatic pneumaticengine is substituted for a relieving-tackle. In such case, however, agreater displacement of piston might be required.

The ropes D4 D4 lead directly from the axis of the main steering-wheel Wto the rudder as eXtra or spare wheel-ropes, if it be desired to usethem.

Thus it will be seen that this steering mechanism has an automatichydraulic or pneumatic relieving-tackle always hooked on, if desired,and as many wheel-ropes and tillerropes as any occasion may require.Several ropes may break, and yet the integrity of the machine be in nowise impaired, nor the safety ot' the ship endangered. Shoulda smallscrewpropeller and shaft be specially used for actuating the drivingmechanism by dragging the screw revolving, a cheap power is always athand, either to be used in steering when under even moderate headway orin sheering when the shipis at anchor in a tideway. The screwpropellercould be placed under the counter of either a steamer or sailing-vessel,quite out of the way, or it might be placed 10W down under the bows; theconsequent retardation ot' the vessel would be inappreciable.

The following is a description ot' certain details ot' this apparatuswhich are considered essential to its greatest efficiency, though, forsome of them, ordinary and simpler substitutes may be used, in thediscretion of the constructing engineer, accordingly, as seen in Fig.l2. I prefer to use the valves ff, which are intended to be simpleplates of either wood, such as lignum-vitee, or metal, packed at theirbacks by a` sheet or strip of indiarubber or other elastic packing. Theyare in shape nearly parallelograms, and are adjusted by the keys z' iand 'gibs m m at their backs. These valves and their packing arecontained in the recesses cast for them in the upper trunnion andstand-pipe stuiiing-box G2, and, as packed, are capable of ready andaccurate adjustment, for their upper edges may be pressed upon by thepacking in said stuffingbox, or the bottom of the stuffing-box may beentirely closed, if preferred. Their bottom edges rest upon thestand-pipe packing-ring j at a slight bevel. The gibs m m, back stripsof gum u u, and through them by pins p p, are connected to the valvesff, and rest upon blocks ot' gum q q, with metal washers interposedbetween the bottoms of the gibs and the blocks of gum. It will beobserved that the valves f f do not lap the ports e e in the stand-pipein width when the arm B of the yoke A is amidships, but only in length.The object ot' this negative lap 7 is to allow the cylinder tooscillate; for it is obvious that it'with this position of arm B-thecylinder were full of water and the ports e e entirely closed, thepiston could not be moved, and hence the cylinder could not oscillate.The stand-pipe packing which I prefer to use consists of a rubber disk,abutting the bottom of the stand-pipe, backed by a metal disk of similarshape, through both of which two bolts pass from the outside, and aresecured by nuts in the inside of the stand-pipe at its base; one ofthese nuts is in each division of the stand-pipe. This rubber disk t iscompressed by and reactsupon a ring of wood, j, such as lignum-vitee, orof metal. This ring is cut intol segmental pieces, as shown by thelines` lu v in Fig. 14, in order that as it wears the reaction of thegum disk t may set it out against the bore ot' the trunnion and theedges of the valvesff, which it meets at a bevel. The elasticity ot' thewhole of this packing in the trunnion will allow of any wearing down ofthe cylinder, and admit of perfect adjustment, and little or no leakagecan take place through this source from one side ofthe piston to theother.

The pistons or valves b b of the elevatingpumps I? I?, which I prefer touse, are provided with packing of rubber disks and rings of wood ormetal, similar to those at the base of the stand-pipe G; but, instead oftwo bolts being used, one central bolt only is used, which secures twosets of packing-rings in each piston. The main object ot using two setsot' packing-rings is to obtain length of valve with but littlefrictional surface. The washers next below the upper and lower rubberdisks are adjustable upon the central bolts, and the central washer, ineach valve, is fast upon or forms a part of its bolt. This arrangementand the threads on the bolts extended into the bodies of the pistons b ballow of perfect setting of the pistons t`or the purposes ot valves.

The diaphragins c2 c2, to which the pistons b b are connected, as seenin the drawing, are

of india-rubber and of a hemispherical shape.

They are bolted to lugs on the yinner side of the heads or bonnets ot'the elevating-pumps l? I), and are subject to but little strain. Theycan, therefore, be made of thin gum or rubber, probably not exceedingone-quarter, or at most three-eighths, of an inch in thickness, and bemolded to the proper shape, it' desired.

These diaphragms exert some pressure as springs in supporting the frameM, in addition to the pressure of the sea 5 but the frame Y M may beprovided with springs, acting upon its ends from any suitable support,it' desired, although the joint action of the diaphragms and the. sea oratmosphere is deemed quite suicient to keep the -frame M in equilibriowhen not in use.

The ports c4 c4 are closed or shut oft' from the annular chambers cl2d2, surrounding the barrels of the elevating-pumps P P, and into whichthe pipes H H open by the packingrings 192192 ofthe pistons b b when thepistons are depressed. The area ot' the holes or ports e2 e2 is buthalt', or less than, that of ports c3 c3, which are ot' equal area withports c4 c4. Only a small portion of water, therefore, is dischargedthrough ports e2 e2,- the main body 0f it escapes through ports 03 c3after elevating the pistons b b. The ports e2 e2 serve the doublefunction of safety-outlets for great and sudden pressure of water, andalso allow one ot' the pistons b b to descend, while the other rises, bypermitting the water below it to escape through them into the chambers cc ot' the elevating-pumps, and thence overboard.

The cubic contents ot' the pump-barrels under the pistons b b should beso much less than the volume swept by the pistonE in the oscillatingcylinder that a very small traverse of the pist-011 E would elevate toits full height either one ot the pistons b b. Fig. 14 shows a pistonand packing, which may be substituted for the piston and its packingshown in Fig. 4, presently to be described.

This piston and packing need no further description than that given forthe packing at the base of the stand-pipe Gr, and for that of thepistons b b, except that as adapted for the piston-rod a sleeve havingtwo anges, y y, is keyed to a rod, and the gum disks and rings formingthe packing are bolted to the end flanges y y by bolts passing throughsaid disks and anges, and through outer ianges y2 y2.

One of these bolts may rest upon the head of the key ys, and thusprevent it from backing out.

To set out this packing the cylinder-head must be removed, which is notthe case with the packing show n in Fig. 4, which has been designedexpressly to obviate the necessity of removing the cylinder-head for thepurpose of setting out said packing against the bore of the cylinder, itbeing particularly desirable for a steering mechanism to avoid, as muchas possible, the necessity of stopping its operation to make adjustmentsof its parts. In this case the piston-rod is made of a larger diameterto about half of its length, and to it is keyed a recessed conical webor piston-head, l, on the smaller diameter of the rod, which also abutsagainst a shoulder or collar on the rod at the junction of the twodiameters. A tubular conical follower, 2, slides on the part of the rodof smaller diameter, and covers the key in the conical head, preventingsaid key from backing out. Over this conical head and follower is passedor slightly sprung the gumcylinder 3, having its interior shaped like adouble cone. Around this cylinder or sleeve of gum are the turns ofpacking of hemp, or rings of metal, if preferred, and two rings ofeither wood or metal at each end of the packing. The follower 2 is setup by means of the nut 5 on the end of the piston-rod, having a metaland rubber washer interposed between it and the end of the tubular partof the follower, which passes out of the stuffing-box on thecylinder-head. Thus the packing is set out, and all leakage between thepiston-rod and the tubular follower prevented, without taking off thecylinder-head. The only object of making the piston-rod of differentialdiameter is in order to obtain an equal displacement of space on eachside of the piston, and also that the stuffing-boxes on thecylinderheads may be duplicates of each other, for it will be observedthat the tubular part of the follower 2, added to the smaller part ofthe diameter of the piston-rod, just equals the larger diameter of saidrod. If preferred, neither the main piston of the oscillating' cylindernor the pistons b b of the elevating-pumps need be packed, but a plaindisk or disks of metal or wood may be used. Considerable durabilitywould be thereby secured, and small leakage from one side of the pistonto the other would not be of serious account, if friction were therebydiminished. For the same reason the lower edges of the valves ff neednot necessarily be beveled to rest upon the packing-ring j at the baseof the stand-pipe. These valves might be finished square, and theleakage due to a small interval between the valves and the ring wouldnot be of serious account.

In the drawing the oscillating cylinder is supposed to be of brass, andits piston-rod is covered by a brass tube. The piston and its followerare of brass, also. This metal or copper is obviously desirable, becauseof the corrosive action of sea-water, if the cylinder bc used ashydraulic and not pneumatic; but the cylinder may be of cast-iron linedwith brass. In such case the passages leading to the upper trunnionwould not be cast in the cylinder, but would be of brass pipe, like sidepipes connecting the upper trunnion with each end of the cylinder.

The upper trunnion is cased within an iron or steel sleeve, s2, in orderto protect the trunnion from wear, and also because of the greaterdurability of such sleeve when turning in brass bearin gs. Such bearingsand the frames and caps for securing them are clearly illustrated in thedrawing.

The lower trunnion is covered by and rests in a brass sleeve or cup, s3,in order to protect it from wear, and because the bearing-boxes b3 beloware made, preferably, of cast-iron, and also because the anti-frictionballs b4, resting therein and inclosed by the ring or band x, are ofiron or steel. These balls, however, may be dispensed with, if desired,and the sleeve or cup s3 be made of wrought-iron or steel, in whichcasethe bearing-boxes b3 may be made of brass. Below the lower trnnnion, andsupporting it in a chamber cast in the bed-plate P2, is a spring, ofrubber or other suitable inaterial, R2. This spring is covered by a cap,R3, which is litted into the chamber of the bedplate, and made,preferably, of wrought-iron or steel, but of brass if the sleeve or cups3 be of iron or steel. Said cup prevents the spreading of the gumspring, as can be clearly seen in the drawing. This cap R3 also forms abearing for the base of the sleev'e or cup s3, covering the lowertrnnnion, but the main bearing of the lower trnnnion, which carries thebearing-boxes b3, is kept adj usted by the keys 1 i2, so that thedepression of the spring R2 more than, say, one-sixteenth of an inchwill bring the whole weight of the cylinder upon said bearing and theballs in the boxes b3, or upon the boxes b3 direct if no balls be used.This main bearin g B3 maybe supported by springs, if preferred, insteadof the base of the lower trunnion. Instead of casting this chamber aspart of the bed-plate P2, a hole may be made therein and a chamber forthe spring be separately made and placed either in this hole, or on thetop of the bed-plate if there be room enough between the base of thetrunnion and the bed-plate to accommodate the spring.

Fig. 9 shows a method of driving the windin g mechanism byfriction-gearin g. The usual scored or V-groove gears may be used, ifdesired; but they are objectionable not only on account of their owngrinding action upon each other and wear, but because of the greatthrust likely to be thrown upon them due to their shape by thedriving-shaft, should it be the propeller-shaft of the ship, some endthrust of such shaft being unavoidable, due to lost motion, practicallynever for any length of timetotally excluded. Fig. 9 therefore shows onthe pinion of the driving-shaft a band or tire,

t2, of hard rubber, such as is used for the tires of the driving-wheelsof traction-engines. The faces ofthe gears a3 a3 may be milled orroughcned, if desired, as seen in the drawing, which, being thrown incontact with the rubber tire of the pinion, will cause the ropes E2 E2to be wound up as long as that contact isenforced. Should, however, anysystem of friction-gears be used, the screw adjustment for thepillowblocks B2 B2 for the end journals N (shown in Fig. 2) will keepthe centers of the gears accurately in line with the center of thedriving-shaft S, and if the winding-shafts s s be prolonged slightlybeyond their bearings and be provided. with end springs, such springswould take the thrust of shaft S from frame M, and would restore thefriction-gears to their proper position when not in contact with theirpinion, should the thrust of the shaft have displaced them when in suchcontact. rlhe windin g-pulleys a2 a2, driven by belts or ropes, as shownin the main figures of the drawing, have therefore been preferred,because of the less strain upon theframe M and its supports due topossible end thrust of the shaft S, which would be more or less with anykind of frictional gearing, but little or none with the pulleys andbelts shown.

When friction-gears are used the windingropes E2 E2 should leaddownward, in order that their winding action should draw them out ofcontact with the driving-pinion when all the rope is wound up. When thewindingropes thus lead, the pillow-blocks for the winding-shafts shouldthen be on top of thev side pieces of the frame M, as seen in Fig. 2,for then there would be little or none of the winding strain upon thebolts of the pillowblocks or their caps. For the same reason, when thewinding-ropes lead downward the pillow-blocks B2 B2 should have caps andbolts, as seen in Fig. 2. But a-better arrangement of pillow-blocks,when the winding-ropes E2 E2 lead upward, as they should do' whenpulleys with belts are used, is that shown in Figs. 5 and 6, where there.are no bolts to bear any winding strain. The few bolts in the hangingpillow-blocks of frame M have only to bear the weight of thewinding-pulleys a2 a2 and their shafts, except possibly a slight springin the end of frame M, and there are no bolts or caps for the endjournals N. The upward strain of these journals, due to the windingaction of the pulleys, is borne by the crowns of their pillow-blocks,said pillowblocks being slotted only sufficiently to admit of theinsertion of necessary brasses, provided with inner flanges only, andnecessary liners under the lower brasses, as clearly illustrated in thedrawing.

Having thus fully described this whole steering mechanism, as of myinvent-ion, I claiml. A vibrating winding mechanism, constructedsubstantially as described, in combination with a rotary driving-shaft,a ships rudder, and suitable ropes and levers, whereby the rudder iseither moved and heid by handpower alone, or moved in either direction,but not held, by the assistance to the hand-power of power transmittedfrom the drivin g-shait, without the necessity of reversing or stoppingthe motion of said shaft, all at the will of the helmsman, and in themanner substantially as described and set forth.

2. A cylinder and its piston, oscillating in a horizontal plane, incombination with a hand steering wheel or lever and a ships rudder,through the intervention of a piston-rod, and suitable ropes and levers,whereby the rudder is actuated and controlled at the will ofthehelmsman, in the manner substantially as described and set forth.

3. The combination, with the winding-shafts s s, of thecounterbalance-weights a a and toggles T T, attached to thewinding-ropes E2 E2, whereby the said ropes are prevented from foulingand sudden winding action of the pulleys prevented, in the mannersubstantially as described and set forth.

4C. The combination, with a ships rudder, of the oscillating cylinder Fand its piston, the elevatingpumps P P, connected by a beam, andsuitable ropes and levers, whereby the movements of the rudder and itsresistance to the helm are controlled by operating the helm itself', atthe will of the helmsman, in the manner substantially as described andset forth.

5. The combination of the oscillatin g cylinder F and its piston withthe stand-pipe G and elevating-pumps P P, provided with pipes H H, K K,L L, whereby the pistons of the pumps P P are actuated, in the mannerand for the purposes substantially as described and set forth.

6. The combination of the elevatingpumps P P, constructed substantiallyas described, with the vibrating frame M and its winding mechanism,whereby said mechanism is thrown both in and out of winding operation,in the manner substantially as described and set forth. n

7 The combination of the elevating-pumps P P, provided with piston-'rodsand diaph'ragms c2 c2, with the arms of a connecting-beam, whereby saidbeam is held in equilibrio, in the manner substantially as described andset forth.

8. The combination of the auxiliary steering sector or Wheel V with themain steering-wheel W, in the manner and for the purposes substantiallyas described and set forth.

PHILIP R. VOORHEES.

Witnesses EDMUND MAssoN, RANDALL HAGNER.

